The Warlock and the Graceling
by DoctorHolmes121
Summary: AUish. When a Merlin bumps into a girl on a busy morning and helps her out with getting the job as the Queen's maid, he doesn't realise quite how much he has just changed his fate, the fate of Camelot and all those who live there. Who is this new girl? Has she got something to hide? And what happens when her help is needed to win the final war? Merlin/OC Arwen
1. Chapter 1

**Hello readers. So Merlin Fanfic No. 2 lets see where this leads us shall we? **

**Little note before you read. YOU DON'T NEED TO HAVE READ GRACELING! If you have then great, but I am more stealing the ideas than the characters and the plot themselves. I just love this idea and decided as I am so obsessed with Merlin at the moment I would write a fanfic crossing the two. Also this is my own take so there will be certain thing that are not like the book so please no hate!**

**Now I won't give anything away as this will hopefully convince you to stick with the story **

**Disclaimer: Merlin and Graceling and all that sort of thing belongs to its respective owners!**

**Unbetaed so mistakes are mine. Please review and see you at the end :D DH**

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To say Merlin was annoyed was an understatement. He was completely and utterly pissed off and the Royal prat of a King was the culprit.

For some deranged reason Arthur had decided to send Merlin on twenty errands at once whilst expecting Merlin to also be in the great hall to suffer through the council meeting. The theory being that if Arthur has to suffer through it so did Merlin. Due to the delay of the meeting he was now late with the prat's lunch. Rushing through the halls as quickly as he could, Merlin was oblivious to the others in the hall -who thankfully got out of the way in time- and ended up colliding with a door that he could've sworn had not been there before.

He grunted on impact and almost went flying backwards but a hand stopped him. Steadying the young man on his feet the mystery owner of the hand grabbed the apple as it fell through the air a foot before hitting the floor. Still slightly disorientated by the almost fall, Merlin's eyes slowly travelled along the slim arm of his 'saviour' to the pale face of the figure before him.

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Smirking, the girl offered the apple in her hand to the young man in front of her. The look on his face showed that he was yet to notice her eyes, fortunately, for when he did he would surely go running in fear of the shock of their colours.

With the slowness that she could have likened to that of a snail the young man's eyes travelled to her face. When their eyes at last connected the look of shock on his face would have been almost comical if not for the fact that she was waiting for the fear and/or hatred to appear in his handsome features shortly after. But instead of the sneering distaste that she usually encountered when she touched or even looked at any one, the young man's mouth stretched into a wide grin that set off his sharp cheekbones.

"Thanks!" he said a little breathlessly. His bright blue eyes fixed on her own. No one had ever kept eye contact for so long, not even the druids. "So sorry about that, I could have sworn that that door wasn't there a moment ago. I'm Merlin." He said with a grin so happy and big that she couldn't resist giving him one in return.

"I'm… Aurora." She replied cautiously, the smile escaping on to her features as his face brightened even more with her reply.

"I'm guessing you're new to Camelot or at least to the castle as I am sure I would have remembered such mesmerising eyes had I met them before."

Blushing at his comment and realising that this 'Merlin' was being genuinely friendly she nodded her head and replied. "I am looking for work actually. Where I came from I was regarded as a freak and hated by almost everyone. So, in the vain hope that someone would take me in, I came here. Some of the people in the lower town said that there may have been a job opening at the castle?" She said the last sentence as more of a question than a statement, gazing cautiously at the still smiling servant.

Puzzlement crossed his features only to be replaced by joy. "Oh, yes actually. Gwen did say something about a maid servant. Apparently her current one has suffered some family issues and is now stuck with a two year old and a three month old baby to look after. Arthur hasn't stopped moaning about it as apparently she was a much preferred wakeup call to me. Although I don't believe Gwen minds me too much but King Prat is a miserable sod at times, especially in the morning…" Merlin rambled as he slowly made his way down the corridor, the bright eyed girl at his heels and listening to his little speech, her features a mask of shock at his relaxed way of talking about the royals.

It was as if the King, Queen and the Kings Manservant were friends. Which by the sounds of it they were as Merlin went on to reminiscing the time he had woken the king and physically dragged him out of bed by his sheets. How displeased His Highness had been with Merlin. Aurora made a remark about his rather slim stature but in return he just quipped "Looks can be deceiving!" In reply (unbeknownst to Merlin) Aurora thought to herself "Don't I know it."

Finally, almost completely without a break of constant chatter from Merlin, they had arrived at Arthur's and Gwen's quarters.

"Hey" he said lightly with a smile. Her head snapped up from where she had been studying the floor intently since they stopped. "I'll put in a good word for you. I believe Gwen is quite desperate for someone as she'll need help to prepare for the banquet tonight." At Aurora's questioning look he replied with a quick shrugged and mumbled about some noble moron that had come to visit.

Shouldering the door open he stumbled into the chambers, food tray still miraculously filled in hand. The door creaked on the hinge for a bit before slamming shut with unintended force.

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Making her way down the corridor the girl could hear the sound of voices coming from the room. There was a condescending voice that sounded from inside saying something about how "Completely and utterly useless the servant was and that he would be better off with a new born pup as his manservant."

There was a reply that sounded just as, if not more, insulting coming from inside and then the tone of voice changed. Another muffled voice joined in, this one much lighter and sweet sounding. By this time Aurora was technically out of ear shot to hear for any normal person. But she wasn't normal. In fact you could say that she was very different from any other.

Well what would you call a girl who had almost unreal blond curly hair and pale skin, unbelievable hidden strength and two different coloured eyes? One a beautiful grey blue that in some light could be cast as sliver and the other the colour of the richest Gold, so bright she could be mistaken for using magic. Oh and one more thing, something that no one here knew existed. She was a Graceling, in fact one of the most powerful Graceling to have ever existed. And not with any old Grace either, Aurora Hyett was Graced with survival and survival was the most powerful and dangerous power to have because survival is all anyone ever really wants.

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**Wow I really enjoyed writing that. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Reviews are better than the survival Grace so please do review and let me know what you think and whether I should keep it going!**

**Doctor Holmes**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to MildeAmasoj and Quartz for your reviews and to all those who have favourite and followed as it has pushed me to write this next chapter **

**Sorry but this is sort of a filler chapter, I intend for it to get a lot more interesting in the next few and I hope to get in some powers sooner or later but no promises just yet! I am not very sure where I want to go with this yet…**

**Right then, enough of that. On with the show! See you at the end :D**

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Arthur and Gwen stared at Merlin as he begged them to give this Aurora girl a chance. Sharing a suspicious look between them as Merlin rambled on about the few facts that he knew about this mystery girl (looks, name… and that's about it, you wonder why they were sharing a look?).

Smirking at the young man's enthusiasm but kind of bored of the ramblings, Arthur clamped his hand over Merlin's mouth. Halting his speech, Merlin stared at the King in a mixture of shock and uncertainty at the Kings next course of action. Thankfully the smile that spilled across the Royal couple's faces eased any of Merlin worries.

"Well, let's meet her then." Said Arthur a laugh barely controlled at the look of relief and joy crossed Merlin's face before he schooled his features into a look of indifference.

"She sounds lovely." Commented Gwen as Merlin looked at them both for a second. Standing in the middle of the chambers the manservant seemed frozen, unsure what to do next. Seeing the raised eyebrow of the King kick started him into moving, leading the pair towards the door.

Once outside he froze again. The pair behind shared an amused look as Arthur clapped him on the back. "Come on then! Where is she?"

"I… I don't know. When I left she was here… she must have left when I went in." He stuttered out spinning either way.

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Merlin couldn't believe his own stupidity, why on earth did he think she would wait out side? Of course she wouldn't and now he was flailing about like the true idiot that he was.

Suddenly (well not really but you know what I mean), there was a tapping of feet and a swash of fabric that caught the three friends attention. A blonde figure was walking down the hall, eyes roaming the walls looking almost lost. When her attention landed on the three, her eyes flashed in the light looking beautiful and strange at the same time. Both royals mouths fell open in shock, neither had ever seen had such eyes.

Merlin beckoned the girl over to his side, glancing at the two in shock royals next to him. A huge smile split his face as Aurora came towards them, her beautiful eyes full of a mixture of curiosity, caution and awe at meeting the famous couple.

When she finally reached them Gwen was the first to recover. She studied the girl for a short moment as Aurora curtsied gracefully and a smile, nearly as bright as Merlin's own, crested her lips as she rose. Offering each other greetings, the two shook hands warmly.

When Aurora turned away to curtsy just a gracefully to Arthur, Merlin raised an eyebrow to Gwen and she nodded. Gwen had only just met the girl and she already liked her.

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Arthur on the other hand was still in a state of shock although not as obvious as before. But from the small smirk on the Graceling face he was still pretty bad at hiding it. Backtracking into the rooms with the girl in tow, he offered her a seat before sitting next to his wife who was now looking at him pleadingly. Out of the corner of his eye he could also see Merlin giving him the puppy eyes.

Well he obviously didn't have much choice in the matter.

"It seem I have little choice but to offer you as Merlin has so kindly begged and my wife seems just as thrilled with you, would you like to have a trial run as the Queen's maid?" He asked his voice still trying to sound indifferent although this girl had really piped his curiosity. He had never even heard of such a thing as two different coloured eyes till Merlin had come bumbling into his chambers earlier and now he was looking into a pair of them.

Her smile lit up her features. "Thank you so very much, sire. I would love to be a maid to the Queen."

Merlin clapped his hands together (definitely not with a very girlish glee). "Well that's sorted then." And with that they all stood, Gwen leading the way to her own chamber saying that she must get ready to meet the visiting nobles who would be arriving soon. Aurora followed her Queen as they started to chat about what sort of dress to ware.

Arthur gave Merlin a smirk, and was sent back a scowling/questioning gaze. "What?"

"You like her don't you?"

"Who?"

"Aurora! Who else?"

"No I don't."

"Yes you do."

"No, I don't.

"Yes, you do _Mer_lin. You are a terrible liar and I can see that you are blushing, even with you back to me." Said Arthur triumphantly as Merlin turned away and tried to look as if he were cleaning up the left over plates from lunch. There was a red flush that ran up his neck and high onto the sharp cheekbones.

Refusing to answer his smirking king, he stormed from the room.

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Gwen had come to the realisation that she really liked Aurora within the first few moments of meeting her. The pair got on like a house on fire and already the Queen had insisted on being called Gwen. They had a lot in common and after helping her prepare, Gwen found that she was a perfect maidservant as well. There was no doubt that she would be staying.

At the moment Gwen was brushing her hair at the dressing table whilst Aurora bustled about the room making everything neat and tidy.

When the rustling behind her stopped Gwen looked back to see Aurora watching somebody in the courtyard with a slight smile. Straightening her back a little to look down through the window as well she saw the receiver of Aurora's gaze. Merlin was attempting to drag an extremely stubborn jet black horse across the yard to where the king was impatiently waiting by the steps. The horse started to move more so Merlin relaxed a bit. Suddenly the horse stopped and in doing so halted Merlin so suddenly that he ended up on his arse.

The entire courtyard, Aurora and Gwen erupted into laughter and Merlin laughed along with them. They all knew how unbelievably stubborn this new horse had been and how stubborn the King had been with keeping it. All felt sorry for the poor manservant that had to deal with the beast(s).

Gwen turned to her maidservant with a smile. "You like him, don't you?"

"Who?" She replied, her head snapping around to stare at Gwen in shock.

"Merlin of course, who else?"

"Well of course I do. He has helped me in more ways than can be said."

"I wasn't asking about that and you know it."

"I could never lo-like someone like that." Aurora said coldly, turning her back to the Queen and trying to look busy.

"Why not?" asked Gwen softly, resting a gentle hand on the girls tense shoulder.

"Because I am a freak, an anomaly. If I walked into the town right now I would be accused of having magic!" At this Gwen flinched.

"Where has this come from? How could you possibly think that of yourself?"

"Gwen, you don't know me. You don't know what I have done and if you did you wouldn't be talking to me right now."

"Try me."

Aurora looked to Gwen in shock. Of all the things the young queen could have said, this was the most unexpected. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Try. Me."

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**Well sorry if anyone was OOC, mainly Gwen, but I wanted the person that Aurora confessed to at first to not be Merlin so Gwen was the next best choice. **

**Please review as they are love and get me to write faster! :D**

**This chapter is just a filler and some action should turn up soon!**

**Doctor Holmes**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, sorry about the late update. A bit more action now so yay! It finally gets interesting and you will now learn some of Aurora's story. I hope the length makes up for the delay.**

**Warnings: Slight reference to rape and violence**

**It is starting to show its T rating now.**

**Any mistakes are my own. **

**Hope you enjoy and see you at the end :D**

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Merlin was still struggling with the blasted horse and even Arthur had given up trying to get the beast to behave. Finally manhandling (with a bit of magic but nobody had to know about that) the creature back into its stable, he blew his slightly too long fringe out of his face and proceeded to make his way back to the castle and Arthur's chambers via the kitchens.

It was late and all Merlin really wanted to do was go to bed, he had missed the entire celebration and feast trying to deal with the beast and Arthur had sent a messenger telling him the King of prats demanded food. As if he didn't eat enough at the feast. Grumbling to himself as he made his way through the town he imagined all the things he could do as revenge to the King.

Suddenly he heard a scream followed by a high pitched whimper that could only belong to a girl. Worry coursed through him as he deterred off his path back to the castle and followed the noise.

Rounding the corner he froze in his tracks. A young girl, no older then sixteen, was crumpled on the floor. Looming over her stood a huge brute of a man, shoulders almost as wide as Merlin was tall. Next to the brute stood three other rather large men who were all grinning with glee at making the poor child scream in such fear. As she tried to call out again one of the smaller men stepped forward and slapped her across the face. Gasping in pain the girl tried to crawl away but she had no luck. The big brute grabbed her wrist and dragged her back to stand in front of him. He raised his hand again to slap the poor child whilst another went to hitch up her skirts.

Just as Merlin was about to call out to the men to leave the girl alone another voice interrupted him.

"I really wouldn't do that again if I were you." It said. At the voice the four men froze. It sounded extremely pissed off and so cold that it sent shivers down Merlin's spine. He searched the shadows for the owner but couldn't see anything.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Yelled one of the smaller men, the one who had slapped the girl the first time, spinning around in search of the source of the voice.

"Well, let her go or you will regret it." The voice now laughed, a raspy, cold sound that had one of the men shaking in fear. "You know, I wonder, what on earth gave you the idea that you could treat anyone like that? Especially one so innocent and helpless as her. But then again that's what pathetic men like you do, pray on the weak so that you feel powerful."

Merlin's lips curled in a slight smile at the insult before it was wiped off his face as one of the men lashed out. The poor girl crumpled to the floor, blood blossoming along her face.

"Com' on ya coward! 'm not afraid of you!" yelled the big brute into the shadows.

Suddenly a figure appeared, seemingly out of thin air, right in front of the brute. A black cloak masked its features and it came up right into the face of the man.

"You should be." At that the figures hand snapped out, smacking the brute in the face and causing him to collapse as his nose was shoved into his head. Next it spun round, leg flying through the air to come into contact with the throat of another of the men; he was down and out for the count. Before the other two had even registered the attack of their conspirators the figure had placed themselves between the weeping and scared girl and the pair. It then grabbed the head of one and smashed his head so hard against the other gormless goon's that both collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

To say Merlin was in shock was an understatement. He had just seen one lone (and rather small compared to the brutes) person defeat four full grown and very large men with such ease that even the King would have been impressed. Not only that but this person also most likely just saved a girl from a world of pain and torture for no real personal gain that he could see.

He watched as the cloaked figure bent down to the shaking girl and helped her stand. They must have said something because the young girl spoke in a shaking voice. The figure then bent at its knees and swept the girl off her feet and slowly made its way down the street leaving the four men on the ground, out cold.

Wanting to follow the girl and her saviour but unable to leave the four men to be able to get away with what they had tried to do, and most likely done to other poor helpless girls, he used a whispered spell to make the men sleep till the guards discovered them.

By the time he had finished the spell the mysterious figure had disappeared into the night. With a defeated and slightly frustrated sigh, Merlin made his way back to the castle and his waiting bed, the King would probably be asleep by now.

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Earlier…

"Please Aurora, what could be so bad that you would think that Merlin would hate you if he found out?" Begged Gwen as her new maidservant looked sadly down at her hands.

"Ok, I'll tell you. But, I am warning you now, it isn't nice and if you do not wish for me to be here after I have told you then I will leave and never come back." She said in a steady but depressed voice.

"It all started when my eyes settled."

"Settled?"

"Yes, my eyes weren't always these colours. In fact they were closer to the colour of Arthurs when I was born. But where I came from there was this thing called a Grace." At this Gwen opened a mouth to ask another question but Aurora put up her had to stop, indicating that she would explain all in due course. "A Grace is where someone, doesn't matter who they are, is able to excel in particular thing. It could be that you are Graced with the ability to climb trees or swim or even read peoples intentions towards you - although that was a very uncommon one – but that is the general idea. People don't like the Graced and they were rarely ever trusted but if you had something useful like Graced with fighting or you were good with numbers or a bow then the local lord or even the King would hire you to work for them.

"The problem with me was I didn't have these sorts of abilities and for a while no one knew what my Grace was. We tried everything but eventually, because I wasn't enough of an outcast already by supposedly being Graced, they gave up on me and shunned me even more."

"Then how did you become a monster?" Asked Gwen, shock evident in her voice about what she had so far learned. She didn't know why Aurora was opening up to her but she wasn't about to stop her.

"I… I… well I killed someone when I was ten." She breathed in deeply to calm her shaking voice and continued on with her story whilst Gwen just stared. "I was making my way home from another day working as a maid for the local lord, and a couple of local boys started to tease and insult me. They were about sixteen and all quite tall and broad as they worked on the fields. They wouldn't leave me alone, kept calling me pointless and good for nothing, a freak and so disgusting that I had even scared my Grace away." Glancing up she could see a horrified look on Gwen's face. "Then they got frustrated because I hadn't replied. One lashed out and grabbed me by the shoulder and slammed me against the wall. Then another, the slimy, greasy haired leader of their little gang slapped me across the face and called me an assortment of thing that I will not say in front of you, milady. They then proceeded to hit me. I tried to struggle out of their grip but they were too strong so… I lashed out.

"I don't remember much after that. I just know that I hit and kicked wherever I could and then it was over and there were two boys on the floor and the others had fled. The greasy haired one wasn't breathing and the commotion caused people to come flooding out into the streets.

"The looks I received were full of horror and fear. All they saw was a small girl surrounded by blood, none of which was belonged to her, with an unconscious and a dead boy at her feet. When the village leader tried to approach me I ran. I ran and I didn't look back. Then I was found by a man. He told me his name was Blackthorn and that he was there to help me. At first he was so kind and so caring that I told him everything. That was my mistake. He trained me up to be a merciless killer, to become a vicious dog if you will, and sent me off on what he called his little 'jobs'. By this time I was fifteen I had ruthlessly killed over forty men, about thirty women and even once an innocent little child.

"You wouldn't believe the terrible things I had to do, milady. Things that I knew weren't right yet I still did them. I knew what I was doing, destroying lives, entire families without ever caring for the consequences. Then it all changed."

At this Aurora's monotone voice changed, she sounded choked. Gwen couldn't help herself and move her hand to rest on her arm. Aurora's downcast eyes looked up in shock to see the sympathetic fear free face of the Queen looking at her kindly.

"I… I met this boy." She managed to stutter before pausing and swallowing the lump in her throat. "He saw me about to sneak into a house and unbeknownst to him I was to kill the owner of it as payment for an overdue dept. By this time I had earned a name for myself. I was known as the 'one eyed assassin' as I always had one of my eyes covered so that no one identified me as the child that I used to be.

"He called out to me, asked me what I was doing. It was a shock for me, no one had seen me before but he did. And even when I threatened him he did nothing to defend himself saying that 'I didn't have any real intention to hurt him so what was the point in defending himself'. The surprising thing was I didn't hurt him, instead I tied him up to a tree and finished my job before going back to see him.

"He had fallen asleep as I had been gone for a good few hours and as I studied him I realised that somehow a little feeling for the boy had crept into my heart. So I woke him and started to question him. Who was he? Where was he from? How could he see me? What was he doing in the street at that time of night? Why did he keep staring at my eye patch? To all these questions he had answers just not necessarily the ones I wanted to hear." Taking a break from talking she glanced up to see if the queen was still following. Taking the quick nod as an affirmative she carried on with her tale.

"He called himself Ben and said that he had been working in the local Inn's stable; he had come out the front of the Inn to sweep the street and just saw me there on the other side of the road, crouched down beneath the window of the manor house. He had been so honest with me and for some reason I felt I could trust him so, I released him and when he didn't run away and came over to sit next to me instead I ended up telling him everything. I showed him my eyes and he didn't flinch or look away. He looked right into them.

"His reaction was unexpected, I thought he would run away or even kill me so when instead he put his arm around me to comfort me I was confused. When I asked why, he said that I reminded him of his little sister who had died from a fever a couple of years previous. She had been a Graceling too, although only a swimmer and thankfully she had not been taken away but instead she caught the illness and there had been nothing that anyone could have done to save her. He was sad but not resentful unlike most. I felt comfortable around him, like family.

"By the time we had finished talking I realised that it was dawn and that if I didn't leave soon then I would be in trouble. Before rushing off I agreed to meet him in the same place the next night to talk more. When I got back to the cabin in the woods where I stayed with Blackthorn he wasn't in but I didn't think anything of it. When he returned he asked me to follow him, thinking that it was another training session I just followed.

"We travelled for a while till we reached a familiar clearing. Blackthorn stopped in the middle of the path apparently looking at something. Frowning I looked around him and… there he was, well what was left of him. There was my poor beloved Ben, his guts spilled across the ground and his face mangled and bloody. Frozen to the spot I felt sick. Now I knew why Blackthorn was late, why he looked so proud of himself. He had followed me and waited like the sick predator that he was, watching and just as I was far enough away to hear, he pounced and killed the only friend I had ever made.

"Blackthorn started to laugh, joking that it had been all too easy and that she would have hated how easy it had been for him to kill Ben. My body went cold but then something snapped. The laughter continued from my so called saviour who was oblivious to my simmering rage, still joking about how easily the boy fell for her innocent part, how easily she had made the boy fall for her and how much he was looking forward to using her feminine ways on the next job. That simmer turned to boiling with that last statement, realising what he intended for me to do, what he had had me doing for five years, his dirty work. I felt them, all those that I had wronged over the years, and those who never did anything to me to deserve that kind of treatment.

"With a livid scream I whipped around and smacked him in the face so hard that his nose was shoved into his head. Next I crouched next to his knee and with the measured force that he had taught me I broke it without a second thought. Grabbing the dagger from his belt I stabbed him in the neck. He didn't even register all that had happened before he was dead.

"After seeing his blood on my hands and seeing the dead body of Ben, I realised that I was a monster, pure and simple, a black hearted monster with enough blood on her hands to drown the strongest of men. So I ran. This time I didn't stop for anything. I didn't need much food or water and barely any sleep. I found a wild horse and coaxed it to me, training it as I ran, I learned to bareback ride very quickly and she learnt my every signal. I travelled for many days and nights only stopping to rest the horse. My pace started to slow when I reached the neighbouring kingdom. From then on I travelled discreetly, stole what I couldn't afford and won a lot of bet to get money. Just things like fights and races. I didn't need much to live off so I only bought what was absolutely necessary. Eventually I had to sell the horse to gain passage across the sea to end up upon your land. The time to get to there had taken five years.

"From the sea to here I did little jobs in villages and towns, helping those who needed it knowing that the only way to be safe was to blend in. I finally arrived at the gates of Camelot five days ago. With the little money I had I rented a room and bought new clothes. After asking around I made my way to the castle to see if I could get a job and you know the rest."

The Queen sat in shock. The poor girl, the years she had suffered through the hate that she had received, for just being different. Gwen didn't care what she had done; all that mattered now was that in front of her sat a broken young woman, a young woman that she had to fix. Offering the maid a small smile of friendship she watched the relief break across her face. The weight of her secret bared on the shoulders of someone else was a relief.

There was a knock on the door and both turned expectantly "The King requests your presence, milady" said a servant. Nodding and replying that she would be there quickly she turned to Aurora.

"After the feast go to your room, collect your belongings and stay in the chambers leading off mine. We will talk tomorrow but for now just relax and enjoy, I know that even as a servant, as feast can be brilliant fun." She said with and authoritative yet kind voice.

Having spoken too much for one day Aurora just nodded in reply.

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**My God that was long, over 3000 words! :O That is certainly the most I have ever written. There was a lot of information in that chapter so I hope you got it all. **

**So did that live up to any expectations? Or not? I would love to know so please review. **

**Now if you are wondering why Aurora is so easily trusting it is because she knows who to trust (apart from Blackthorn but she was only ten) and as you know Gwen is a very lovely and trusting person too. I know it may be a little OOC but I just wanted Aurora to have a friend who knew everything about her. **

**Thanks for reading! **

**Doctor Holmes**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the long delay in posting but I have exams coming up. Sadly this means posts may become even fewer and far between but I will update asap! **

**I suffered from writers block for a while to start this thing and then I suddenly got an idea. I hope it lives up to any (if any) expectations. If so or if not I would like to know so please review!**

**PS I know Gwen again is more than likely OOC, sorry if she is but I think this is what she would hopefully react like in this situation.**

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The next day Aurora entered her mistresses chambers cautiously. Glancing around she found the Queen dressed for the day and sat in front of her dresser brushing through her long hair.

Gwen, upon hearing her maid enter the room, turned to face her.

Aurora froze mid step. Staring into the eyes of her Queen she awaited her judgment, body tense and ready to fight or flight at the slightest inclination to harm her.

Then Gwen smiled. "Hello Aurora, how are you today?"

Aurora frowned in confusion automatically responding "I am well, thank you my lady. How are you?"

"Wonderful, absolutely wonderful! And do you know why, because I wish for you to be my permanent maidservant!" Her soft smile spreading into a grin. Aurora just gapped at her in shock as the young Queen stood and made her way over to the Graceling. Grasping her shoulders gently Gwen looked at her with kind eyes, "I don't care about what you have done in the past, it is who you are now that is important, and from what I can see you are a beautiful and clever young girl who just needs a friend and a home. This is what I wish to give to you. Stay here in the castle, work for me as my maid and be my friend. Oh and please none of this 'my lady' rubbish, my name is Gwen and that is what you shall call me. Understand?"

Aurora nodded, a huge smile to rival Gwen's own lighting up her face at her mistress's words. Happy that Aurora had accepted the offer, Gwen made her way back to the dresser and threaded a jewelled clip through her hair.

"Right then," She said turning back towards Aurora who was now standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. "I must be off to a council meeting and I do not wish to bore you with it. The councillors are frightfully dull and dim-witted and I wouldn't want you falling asleep on your first day on the job so you will clean my chambers and wash my red evening gown and then this afternoon we will go to the market and purchase you some new clothes."

Aurora looked down at her raggedy dress, it had been all she could buy with the money she had had so it was all she had but that didn't mean she wanted the queen to think that she had to buy clothes for her. "New clothes m- Gwen? I don't want to trouble you."

"Oh it's no trouble at all. In fact I think it would be rather fun don't you?" The new friends grinned at each other before Gwen departed her chambers in a flurry of skirts and finery.

OoOoOoOoO

Aurora couldn't believe it. Gwen had accepted her, even with knowing all her misdeeds, all that she had done, Gwen had still wanted to be her friend. An unfamiliar warming filled heart, she smiled as she went about her chores.

After washing the dress and leaving it to dry she went about sweeping the Queens chambers. The feel of the wood beneath her fingers reminded her that she had not practiced with a bow for a long time. Even though the brush end would unbalance it she would be able to compensate and it was always good to be able to fight with anything. Running her hands down the pole she settled into a fighting stance, her mind falling into its fighting zone. Every sense was heightened.

She imagined an enemy creeping up behind her, focusing on that thought she started to move.

Soon she was flying through the air defeating imaginary foes left right and centre. Legs bending and twisting as she used the broom to spin around and kick another in the chest. Then she started to attack with just the broom, moving so quickly that her arms and the wood was just a blur.

Suddenly the doors to the chambers opened and with a yell Aurora spun round to face the intruder, brandishing the broom offensively in front of her.

The look on Gwen's face jolted her out of her zone. "My lady, I-I-I'm so sorry!" The look of horror on Aurora's face was enough to send the Queen into a laughing fit. Taking another stride into the room, she shut the door behind herself and carried on laughing, leaning against the door whilst Aurora looked on in confusion. Once Gwen had finally composed herself she looked up at Aurora who was still standing in the middle of the room with the broom in her hands looking very confused.

"Well that was a shock." She chuckled again, "That was a very big shock. Wow, just, wow. You are an amazing fighter aren't you? I have never seen someone move so fast, not even the best of knights." Aurora smiled at that, she would easily beat any of them in a one to one. "Then again you could probably beat them all with your hands tied. Why didn't you say something about wanting to practice, you could have gone to the practice ground and used real weapons instead of an old broom. Maybe show the boys a few tricks and put a couple in their place…"

Gwen trailed off and studied Aurora whilst the maid tried not to fidget uncomfortably under the Queens gaze. "Aurora, do you think you could teach me?"

"Teach you?"

"Yes, teach me how to fight, how to defend myself against someone bigger and stronger than me. I don't want to always depend on everyone else. I can use a sword but knowing how to fight with a bow would be really useful."

"I would be glad to if that is what you wish." She replied bowing her head.

"It is. We will start our first lesson after we have got you some new clothes. I think that some riding dresses would be good."

She looked back up to the Queen. "Riding? Why would I need riding dresses?"

"First of all you will accompany me everywhere, so when I go riding so will you. Also I am pretty sure that it will be much easier to fight with your legs free to move." Said Gwen with a knowing smile. "Come on, we will visit the market now and then after lunch we will start the lessons. I don't want Arthur to know about them, I wish to surprise him so we must find a hidden place to learn."

After freshening herself up the Queen and her maid servant left the castle and dove into the bustling streets of the market.

OoOoOoOoO

Two hours later…

Giggling the pair wandered across the courtyard arms linked and faces glowing with exertion and happiness. Arthur watched his wife from his room with a smile on his face, Gwen was always good at making friends and the pair seemed to be close already.

Aurora lent in and murmured something into Gwen's ear whilst gesturing towards his part of the castle. The Queen glanced to her friend with a smile and then followed the gesture with her eyes till she looked up to stare directly at Arthur, her grin widening. Arthur jumped back into the room in shock causing Merlin to start to laugh as he tripped over a chair and landed with a thump on the floor.

Groaning Arthur blinked his eyes open to see a smiling Merlin looking down at him. "You okay down there Sire?" The king just glared at him and stuck out his arm to grab the offered hand.

Once upright and stable again he made to walk out of the room only to be stopped by the look on Merlin's face. The raised eyebrow look that obviously showed he had been around Guias too much.

"Do tell me Oh Great King Arthur," His manservant said and a sarcastic tone, a cheeky grin spreading its self across his face. "Why you fell over in the first place because it seems to me that something must have shocked you, you never move that fast normally."

Arthur made to swipe at Merlin but the dark haired boy ducked under his out stretched hand. "See what I mean Sire. You're usually so slow."

"Just remembered to do something important that was all, nothing that an idiot like you would understand." Arthur snapped at the grinning manservant.

"So full of importance that you ended up on your arse just thinking about it sire? Well that is impressive." He retorted. "So it was nothing to do with the fact that two certain ladies found you spying on them?"

Arthur growled. Sometimes he wished his manservant was as dim-witted and obedient –Bootlickers as Merlin liked to call them- as the others because then he wouldn't have this problem. Glaring at the idiot he neglected to answer the question. But a question appeared rather uninvited in his head, how on earth did Aurora know that he was watching them? He didn't think it was possible to see through his window from the courtyard and to have spotted his window in the first place? He might have to have a chat with the girl at some point. Someone with eyesight like that could be very valuable indeed.

OoOoOoOoO

Aurora and Gwen ate a quick lunch as the young queen was eager to start their first lesson.

"I know the perfect place," She said in hushed tones. "It's where I used to practice my sword skills. Nobody, not even Arthur knows where it is."

"That's perfect. Now to just get the bows there." Aurora replied as she dressed her mistress in the riding dress that they would be fighting in. She had already changed into her pale grey dress, the only one they had managed to acquire straight away but Gwen had insisted on several more in all varying shades to be made for her.

"The serving girl that I told to deliver them to the castle has placed them in a hallway not far from the room. She seemed a little confused at my request but I know that she will keep her mouth shut." Said Gwen with a cheeky smile. She couldn't believe she was doing this. Soon she would be able to fight men twice her size with just a piece of wood.

"Come along then Gwen, we best be off to our lesson. I have asked a servant to inform the king that you have taken me on a tour of the lower town via the serving quarters." Said Aurora as she went to check the cost was clear from the servant's door. The only way to get to the room was though several different passages. Once certain they made their way to the room collecting the bows as they went.

The room was a wide open space that used to have been used to store the winter food but a separate building had to be built to withhold the ever increasing amount, so the room had become useless and empty. The walls were the same cool white stone as the rest of the castle and there were small openings near the celling to let in some air. The room was quite cold still due to the land only just shaking off the last wisps of winter.

Once they had warmed up through a group of moves and stances without the bows to get themselves in the zone Aurora went into her first lesson.

Correcting the queen's grip on the bow she then moved her feet into the correct stance. Standing in front of her student she studied her posture. "Now hold that position. This is your fighting stance. It is a little different from hand to hand or sword stances as you have a longer reach and bulkier weapon. Now you have a firm grip and a strong stance so we are going to go through the basic moves."

Slowly Aurora led Gwen through each move, correcting her stance and grip every time till the queen could move smoothly from one to another without her input. She was then made to do them in ever increasingly complicated patterns till she was struggling for breath and Aurora finally told her she was doing well. Smiling at her success the queen relaxed her posture, letting her bow fall from its defensive position, just to have the end of a bow pause inches from her face. The shock of it froze her as a voice to her right said in a cold tone. "Never let down your guard so quickly. You would be dead." Gwen turned her head towards her teacher as the bow was removed. The once warm molten metal eyes had turned harsh and sharp. "You must," She stated lashing out her bow with such force that it whipped through the air with a whistling sound, "Always," Breath "Be," Swipe "On," Jab "Your," she spun and slammed the bow against the ground with bone breaking force "Guard. Do you understand?!"

Gwen nodded, her eyes wide with shock at the ferocity of her usually kind friend. As suddenly as it appeared the coldness in Aurora's eyes melted and the warm gold and silver returning in place of the harsh shade they had become when she was angry. Her eyes wide with the realisation of what she had just done she threw down her bow and bowed her head and stuttered out an apology. "I-I am s-so sorry, milady. I should not have spoken to you like that, nor treated or threatened you in such a way. If you wish for me to leave I would understand." Regret and sadness filled her voice.

Gwen stepped forward and laid a hand on Aurora's shoulder. She could feel the tension fill the young girl, body freezing and preparing for the blow. "No, Aurora. You were right. I shouldn't have let my guard down and you were right in reminding me of that. And what have I told you about calling me Gwen?"

Aurora looked up at her queen. The sincere smile on Gwen's face drained the tension from her shoulders. Slowly she stood back from the royal and glanced at the window to see the sun further across the sky than she expected. "I think that's enough lessons for one day, don't you?"

Gwen replied with a nod and the two quickly stashed the bows in an empty crate on the side of the room and hurried out. Realising that they might have already been missed they ran until they reached the door. Aurora checked the chambers were empty before entering.

Once both had caught their breath and relaxed they caught each other's eye. Suddenly the pair burst into giggles, their relief at not being found out and their excitement at having a secret finally hitting them. Both ended up clutching their stomachs in pain of laughing too hard and were leaning against each other for support.

Just as they were managing to get their fit of laughter under control there was a knock at the door. The queen righted herself and tried to put on her business face. The knight said that the king requested that the queen eat with him in the great hall tonight and that she bring along Aurora for he would like to speak with her.

Once the man had left the pair turned towards each other. Had they been found out already? Was Arthur going to stop the lessons?

OoOoOoOoO

**Sorry again for the long wait! I know it wasn't much but it is all I could come up with. I will try and update sooner in the future but no promises. **

**Please review! **

**DH**


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